SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Marty Wilson, a UC Santa Barbara men's basketball assistant coach for six seasons, will leave the Gaucho program to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Utah, head coach Bob Williams announced today.

Wilson, who was the first assistant that Williams hired when he arrived in Santa Barbara in 1998, has been instrumental in the Gauchos' recent success, including postseason appearances in 2002 and 2003. He served as the program's primary recruiter and worked primarily with UCSB's backcourt players.

"This is one of those good news, bad news things," Williams said. "On the one hand, I hate to see him go because he is such a good friend and does such a great job. But on the other hand this is a very good opportunity for Marty and his family and it will be a positive step in what will continue to be a very successful coaching career."

Wilson will join the staff of recently-hired Ray Giacoletti, who was hired to replace Rick Majerus as the head coach of the Utes. In addition to being part of Williams' coaching staff for the last six seasons, Wilson was a starting guard at Pepperdine during Williams' two-year tenure as the lead assistant at the Malibu, Calif., school.